Day: March 25, 2009

Oakland’s 13th Worst In Crime

Oakland does have high crime rates, when you look at both violent and non-violent crimes.  According to the MetroCrime 2008 Rankings, Oakland came in 13th worst out of 388 U.S. metro areas.

The CQ Press produces their rankings based on FBI crime statistics for six crimes:  murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

Unlucky 13

For each crime type, CQ calculates the number of local crimes/100,000 population as well as variances vs. national averages.  Then CQ adds these six variances together to issue the metro results.

We’re not saying that violent crimes aren’t important.  However burglaries and motor vehicle thefts also contribute to quality of life, and should be included when assessing Oakland’s crime issues.

With this 13th ranking given to Oakland, we don’t have much farther to fall…sigh.

Oakland From Afar

We’re away from Oakland for a few days, and on the chilly East Coast.  There are no blossoms or signs of spring here.  There is plenty of crime and mayhem.

Essex County, NJ bears some resemblance to Oakland.  It’s home to Newark as well as Short Hills.  Of course, this is part of the Sopranos’ playground.

With all the Montclair and Oakland happenings, we are missing home now.  Please feel free to post messages about doings today in Montclair – and we’ll be back in a day or so.